The use of bird perches and artificial bat roosts to overcome dispersal and establishment limitation in bracken-dominated deforested areas

Abstract

The failure of seeds to arrive at suitable sites (dispersal limitation) and/or unsuitable conditions for germination, seedling survival and growth (establishment limitation) can impede the regeneration of tropical forests. We installed bird perches and artificial bat roosts in deforested areas dominated by the bracken fern Pteridium in the tropical montane forest of Bolivia to evaluate their effect on dispersal and establishment limitations. We also analyzed the relationship between seed size and life-history strategies of plants subject to both limitations. We found that perches reduced dispersal and establishment limitation of all seed sizes (small and large) and life-history strategies (pioneer and non-pioneer). In contrast, bat roosts did not reduce dispersal and establishment limitation in any of the categories. Our results reinforce the observation that dispersal limitation is one of the main filters that plant species must overcome in bracken-dominated deforested areas. The installation of bird perches as well as direct sowing of animal-dispersed seeds and planting of seedlings are strategies that could effectively support the regeneration of these widely distributed deforested areas.